Fire bomb

An early morning blaze, which witnesses suggest was ignited by a molotov cocktail thrown on a Cave Hill main road, St Michael home, has left a family of four homeless.

The timber and wall house belonging to Phyllis Rouse was flattened by a ferocious blaze which started around 3:30 a.m.

According to neighbours, a cocktail bomb was thrown on a white Toyota car belonging to daughter Sharifa Rouse that was parked in the garage.

A family of four is now homeless after this morning’s blaze.

Neighbours and relatives lost the battle to save the house’s contents.

A Barbados TODAY team arrived at the hollowed shell of a home. Neighbours said the family were able to escape.

A neighbour told Barbados TODAY that she was awakened by a sound similar to the knocking of a piece of wood. The alarm was raised when her dog started to bark crazily.

“It did not start as a spark, it started as a big flame,” the neighbour recounted.

She revealed that the family was sleeping when the incident occurred. They were awakened by the shouts and knocking on their doors from neighbours.

Echoes of the exploding car reverberated throughout the entire district as the fire spread rapidly from the car to the house and then to neighbouring utility poles, the witness said.

She said: “That car burn and burn until there were explosions, the electrical pole caught on fire, we lost power. All this time the fire engine didn’t get here about 45 minutes into [the house] burning.”

“That house could have been saved if the fire attenders had responded in an appropriate time because that car burn for a while without affecting the house.

“I blame the fire department. Those people could have had a house today if they responded and when they sent a truck, the truck didn’t have any water.

“It was just a hot mess”.

An elderly neighbour, expressing concern for the homeowner, said: “It hurt me to see that we grow up together and Phyllis work hard and it gone.” katrinaking@barbadostoday.bb